A Kept Woman

By: Daryl Devore

Chapter One

“Gawd, women are such a pain.” Derek snapped his cell phone shut and threw it onto his night table. He untied his blue-striped silk tie and tossed it onto the bed. In moments, his Italian-cut three-piece suit lay equally flung aside. Pulling open the bottom dresser drawer, he removed a fraying, college sweatshirt and a pair of faded blue jeans. After lacing up his well-worn sneakers and ruffling his groomed hair, he stared at his reflection in his full length mirror. The transformation from chairman of the board to construction worker took less than five minutes. Grabbing his wallet he removed his driver’s license, one charge card and thirty-five dollars and placed them into an old wallet. He stuffed it into his back hip pocket, grabbed his cell phone and exited his bedroom.

Donning his jacket with the New York Rangers team’s logo, he checked the pocket for his car keys, then rode his private elevator down to the basement parking garage. He walked past his three expensive imports, unlocked the rusted, dark blue Camaro and drove out of the upper rich side.

Traffic was a beast. Snow had fallen all day. The roads were slippery and regular people were anxious to get home. Not Derek. He headed to Charlie’s, a topless bar on the corner of ‘don’t know’ and ‘don’t care.’

Opening the door, he stepped out of the mid-November chill into his alter ego world. Charlie’s wasn’t a special bar, just a nondescript drinking joint - dark, hazy and full of people wanting to get drunk. But he loved it. Here he was Derek, not Mr. Davenport. He sat on the stool next to his three drinking buddies. “Yo, low life and scum-beings.” They waved their beers. “Barkeep, whatever they’re drinking I’ll have two of. I’m behind here and gotta get caught up.” He grabbed a handful of peanuts.

“Thought you had a date tonight,” said Steve, married with three kids. He spent many nights hiding out in the bar spending his pay check on beer and false conversations.

“Women are such pains.” Derek tossed some money on the bar and took a gulp of beer.

“Bulletin,” recently divorced Linc, shouted to the few patrons in the bar. “Derek’s broken up with his woman of the month.”

A buxom waitress wiggled her way past and pressed her ample, naked breasts up against Derek’s back. His groin sent him an, Easy fuck alert.

“You promised I’d be your next girl.” said a pouty little voice.

Derek turned on his bar stool, and was chest to chest with Trixie. His hands cupped her breasts. “Beautiful. Full and very suckable.”

The bartender cuffed Derek across the back of the head. “How many times do I gotta tell you? Don’t touch the girls.”

Derek dropped his hands. Trixie ain’t no girl. She’s worked here too long. Any girlness was gone years ago. He grabbed his two beers. “Come on guys, table over there. Game’ll be starting soon and I gotta get drunk.”

“Bad day at work?” Kevin asked.

Derek collapsed on his chair. “Stinking day. Think I’ll get rich, buy the company and fire my boss. He’s such an ass.”

Steve swallowed his beer. “Hey, could you get rich enough to fire my boss?”

“I’ll get rich enough to fire everybody’s boss. Then we can all be boss,” said Derek.

“And fire ourselves.” Linc raised his bottle.

“I’ll drink to that.” Steve clinked his bottle with Linc’s.

By nine-thirty, Steve and Linc were singing old Beach Boy tunes and being led by Kevin, a drummer from a now defunct rock and roll oldies band. “I know.” Kevin’s eyes brightened. “Place an ad.”

“Me and Steve, don’t know what ya talkin’ `bout.” Derek was about to ask Linc what was going on, but his cheek was pressed against crushed peanut shells and spilled beer. “Screw this! I gotta take a leak.” Derek made a beeline for the Men’s Room.

Trixie watched him cross the bar and when he exited the rest room, she pulled him into the manager’s office. “He’s not in tonight.”